What Kind of Research Does CBBF Fund for Osteogenesis Imperfecta?

Updated

CBBF (the Children's Brittle Bone Foundation) funds research into the causes, diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and eventual cure of Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI). According to the foundation, it has raised over $18 million for OI research, and its grantmaking has broadened over time to cover more clinical concerns—most notably through the Linked Clinical Research Center (LCRC) program launched in 2006 in concert with the OI Foundation.

The research areas CBBF supports

CBBF describes its research mission across five connected aims:

  • Causes — understanding what underlies OI
  • Diagnosis — improving how OI is identified
  • Treatment — advancing care for people living with OI
  • Prevention — reducing occurrence or impact
  • Cure — the long-term goal of the foundation's fundraising

This is a broad mandate rather than a single-disease-mechanism focus, which matters if you are trying to judge whether a given project fits CBBF's portfolio.

The Linked Clinical Research Center (LCRC) program

The clearest structural detail on CBBF's site is the LCRC program. Launched in 2006 with the OI Foundation, it marked a deliberate shift: CBBF "broadened its grant mechanism to include more clinical concerns." In practice, that means the foundation's funding is not limited to laboratory science—it extends to clinical research questions relevant to OI care and treatment. CBBF presents the LCRC as the vehicle "driving innovation in the research and treatment of OI."

If your interest is in clinical rather than basic-science work, the LCRC is the program to look at first.

Research grants and fellowships

CBBF lists Research Grants & Fellowships as a distinct category alongside its grant program. The site provides an "Apply for Grant" entry point and a "Past Recipients" page, which are the two most useful places to check:

What you want to know Where to look on cbbf.org
Whether your project fits Research Grants & Fellowships; Apply for Grant
What has been funded before Past Recipients
Clinical research direction Linked Clinical Research Center (LCRC)
Overall impact and scale Impact; "Your Donations at Work"

The site does not publish award amounts, eligibility rules, or deadlines in the material available, so those details need to be confirmed directly with the foundation rather than assumed.

Where the money comes from and where it goes

CBBF's funding model is donation- and event-based. The site highlights an annual fundraising golf outing (with live auction and "hero grants") and online donations through a secured server. It states that all donations to the Children's Brittle Bone Foundation are 100% tax deductible and "go directly to those who need it most." For a donor, the "Your Donations at Work" and "Impact" pages are the natural place to trace how contributed funds connect to research.

Practical next steps

  • Researchers: review Past Recipients to see whether prior awards resemble your work, then use the Apply for Grant path; confirm current eligibility and timing with CBBF directly.
  • Donors: start with Impact and Your Donations at Work to see the research the foundation reports supporting.
  • Families and patients: the FAQ page and the OI Foundation link are the site's main routes to broader OI information.

Contact details listed by the foundation: Children's Brittle Bone Foundation, PO Box 2462, Chicago, IL 60690, phone (773) 236-2223.